Books in You Choose: Historical Eras series

Starting in colonial times, thousands of African people were kidnapped and brought to the United States, where they were enslaved. Those who escaped were often caught, and, if so, treated harshly, or even killed, as were those who tried to help them escape. But that didn’t stop brave people from trying. By the 1850s an escape method dubbed the Underground Railroad was in full swing. Though it wasn’t a railroad, but a network of people helping enslaved people escape to the northern United States and Canada, it used railroad terms such as conductor and station. Imagine you were an enslaved person in the 1850s, desperate to escape to freedom, or a helper on the railroad, taking great risks so others could escape to freedom. The Underground Railroad lets you choose a path … to freedom or capture and, perhaps, death.

Since 753 BC, ancient Rome has been the center of the Roman Empire. The powerful civilization has made advances in engineering, art, and architecture. Its citizens, especially the wealthy ones, enjoy many freedoms. Will you: Choose between politics and business as a wealthy Roman man? Explore your options as a young woman of Rome? Experience the siege of Rome as a Roman peasant?

You are a New Englander with a bad case of gold fever. Gold has been discovered in California, and you want to go claim some for yourself. Here's a chance to set off on your own quest for gold. Everything in this book happened to real people, but you are in control now and YOU CHOOSE what you do next. The choices you make could lead you to treasure or trouble. Will you strike it rich?

YOU are aboard the Titanic, the world’s largest ocean liner. The ship is sinking, and the ocean water is freezing. Will you survive? Do you get on the lifeboat or try to wait it out? Do you come to the rescue of the ship or continue in your path? Everything in this book happened to real people. And YOU CHOOSE what to do next. The choices you make will lead you to life or death.

Europeans came to the American colonies in the 1600s and 1700s in search of a better life. They worked hard and built farms, homes, and towns. But they were still under Great Britain’s rule. Many wanted to make their own laws, but that meant going to war against a rich and powerful country. Will you: Travel to Virginia as an indentured servant? Choose between careers as a sailor or a soldier in Massachusetts? Decide which side you’ll take as the country marches closer to revolution?

You’re one of millions of immigrants leaving your home in the early 1900s to move to the United States. You’re searching for a better life. Ellis Island, near New York City, is your first stop in your search for opportunity and freedom. Officials on the island have been processing immigrants there for decades, but not everyone gets through. If you pass the tests, you’re on your way to a new life in the United States. If you don’t, you may find yourself being sent back to your homeland. What path will you take? Will you: Be a Jewish youth leaving the violence of Russia in hopes of a better life in America? Be an Italian teen who lands at Ellis Island during World War I? A German immigrant who faces deportation? Everything in this book happened to real people. And YOU CHOOSE what you do next. The choices you make could lead you to opportunity, to wealth, to poverty, or even to death.